Latest Gerridae Stories

This month's special issue of Physics World is devoted to animal physics, and includes science writer Stephen Ornes explanation of how pond skaters effortlessly skip across water leaving nothing but a small ripple in their wake.

Self-cleaning walls, counter tops, fabrics, even micro-robots that can walk on water -- all those things and more could be closer to reality because of research recently completed by scientists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and at Japan's RIKEN Institute.

The Water strider, (also known as: Skater, Pond Skater, Jesus Bug, Water Skeeter, water scooter, water skater, and Skimmer) is any of a number of predatory insects in the family Gerridae that rely on the surface tension of water to walk on top of it. They live on the surface of ponds, slow streams, marshes, and other quiet waters and can move very quickly (up to 1 m/s) over the surface of water.
Aquarius remigis (formerly known as Gerris remigis) is one of the species in Gerridae known as...

A pivoted catch designed to fall into a notch on a ratchet wheel so as to allow movement in only one direction (e.g. on a windlass or in a clock mechanism), or alternatively to move the wheel in one direction.